1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system of teaching fraction computations utilizing musical note names and note values in the form of blocks with varying lengths; while simultaneously preparing a student to learn additional rhythmic topics: time signatures, beats, tempo, and rhythmic performance.
2. Description of Related Art
A new music student has to master several mental concepts and physical coordination in order to successfully play music. Mastering the physical coordination is generally the repetition of practice to gain muscle memory; whereas learning the mental concepts requires an understanding gained through one or more experiences: Spatial, Visual, Auditory, or Tactile. Reading music requires an understanding of several concepts including note values, beats, time signatures, and rhythm. There are fundamental mathematical principals necessary for a student to grasp when learning music; such as musical note values with fraction names, beats used for counting to indicate measurement, time signatures providing ratios to the relationship of notes to beats and measure to beats.
The fraction note names (Half note, Quarter note, Eighth note, Sixteenth note, etc,) come from the division of the whole note. Each kind of note represents a value; traditionally taught as an amount of time sustained as beats. Beats, in terms of counting, are known as a relative value of time that is used to measure how long a note is sustained. Time Signatures usually comprised of two numbers, one number placed over another number. Traditional methods teach, the top number indicates the number of beats per a measure of music, and the bottom number indicates which note equals one beat. For example in the time signature ¾, the top number 3 indicates that there are 3 beats per measure, and the bottom number 4 indicates that the Quarter note equals one beat. The 4 as the bottom number in the time signature is representative of the 4 in the bottom number of the fraction ¼, the numerical form of the quarter note. Therefore, the value of a musical measure will be equal to the value of 3 quarter notes. More specifically, the amount of time a measure of music in ¾ is the total time it takes for 3 quarter notes to be sustained for a period of time, measured by a determined amount of time of 3 beats. The inter-related complexity of note values, beats, and time signatures and the conditions that govern each other, lend to the need to simultaneously teach these music concepts.
Traditionally, the instruction of fraction computations and music concepts are taught independently to children aged six (6) years or older. The reason for traditionally teaching children at this age is due, in a large part, to the difficulty of teaching these abstract concepts using conventional methods. Fractions are commonly introduced as numerical representations in the form of two-dimensional shading. Children are instructed to solve problems using a set of operations and rules based on memorization. For example, to solve ⅛+ 1/16, both denominators must be the same number. Step one: the least common denominator must be found (the number 16 in this case). Step 2: The 8 in the denominator needs to be changed to the number 16, without changing the value of the ⅛. Step 3: the numerator and the denominator of ⅛ are both multiplied by the number 2. Step 4: the new equation is 2/16+ 1/16. Step 5: add only the numerators to arrive at the answer 3/16.
There are several disadvantages to the prior arts traditional teaching methods that are addressed by the present invention. The present invention, as it pertains to fraction computations, teaches ages as young as pre-kindergarten the introducing of the concepts of fraction addition, “least Common denominator”, and the division of fractions. As it pertains to musical rhythm, the present invention removes teaching abstract values of time and simultaneous instruction; while providing concrete concepts by teaching spatial lengths with 3 dimensional manipulatives using a method that teaches one subject at a time. Features and methods utilized in this invention described herein provide for teaching young students fraction computations and music concepts where other forms of instruction do not.
The Hanington invention U.S. Pat. No. 6,967,274 claims to teach the correct rhythm through the use of varying thickness relationship of notes in a musical measure and the time signature. Although this is a highly effective method of correct amount of note/rest values per musical measure for a specified time signature, conversely, it fails application when teaching students a specific time signature for a specified amount of note/rest values for a single musical measure. Based on the Hanington's patent claims and description, notes of a certain thickness added together equals the thickness of a time signature. For example, a ¾ time signature thickness is equal to the total thickness of 3 one-quarter note values. Similarly, given the total thickness of 3 one-quarter note values, it would equal the thickness of ¾ time signature. However in this example, a student given a 3 one-quarter note value thickness cannot specifically determine the whether the time signature is ¾, 6/8, 12/16, etc., because in the Hanington invention, 4 and the 6/8 time signature are the same thickness. However, 1 in these varied time signatures the notes have different rhythmical counts (beats).
The Hanington invention has beat mats to indicated the number of beats used for a specific time signature; once again, it fails application when teaching students the specific kind of note equal to 1 beat. For example, a ¾ time signature would indicate the use of 3 beat mats for a single musical measure; conversely, a student given 3 beat mats cannot determine a specific time signature, the top number of the time signature would be 3, but the bottom number remains unknown. Moreover it fails to indicate the beat division of the ½ beat and ¼ beat that would indicate the exact note/rest placement within the musical measure. In short, the Hanington invention includes no true teaching correlation between beats, notes and the time signature. The features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows.